Dear Family and Friends,
It is so great to be able to email everyone today! The weeks still continue to fly by here at the MTC. I can't believe that it has been over a month already. It feels like I just arrived at the MTC yesterday. It is so great to hear how everyone is doing and seeing all of your pictures. I really enjoyed those pictures of your family home evening together. I finally found Elder Fesolai!! I am sorry it took me so long, I was hoping I could send you a picture of me and him for dad's birthday. I am so happy that I was able to end up finding him. So to be able to find where he was I went to the front desk and asked them if they knew of an Elder Fesolai. She said she knew him, but could not give me his residence hall number. She did however let me have his meal time schedule and his mailbox unit number. On Friday I was able to send him a letter to his mail box. I did not hear back from him that day or the next, but I knew he would be leaving on Tuesday this week. So I ended up going to his dinner time on Saturday night to look for him. It was crazy to think that out of 300 missionaries having dinner together I would be able to spot out 1 Elder, who I didn't even know what he looked like. I thought I had no chance in being able to find him. Then the craziest thing happened, the first Polynesian Elder we talked to knew exactly who he was. He was not in the same district or zone, but he offered to help us look for him. We walked around for a while until he spotted him. I was finally able to talk to him and get a picture with him. I so glad that I was able to find him, and he seemed like a really cool guy. We talked about how my dad and his dad served together and still visit each other. It took me a while, sorry it was late, but I was able to find him thankfully. It is funny that as I am writing this letter he is now in Africa teaching about the gospel.
The new missionaries came in yesterday! Being the zone leaders of our branch my companion, the sister training leaders, and I were able to do an orientation for the new missionaries. We had a meeting yesterday at 8:00 and told them all about the MTC. It was so cool being able to meet all the new missionaries (there is 48, 33 Elders, 15 Sisters). We introduced ourselves and had them tell us a few things about themselves. I am so excited to get to know each of the new missionaries. We were also able to bare our testimonies about our missions so far, and about how we were all put here to serve the people of Japan for a reason. God truly has a plan for each of us. They are also a new motivation for me to be a good example and to work hard for the few remaining weeks that I have here at the MTC. I feel like I already love each of them so much even though I have only known them for less than a day. It is great to see their smiling faces and to be able to get to know them. It is a such a privilege to be able to serve all these missionaries. I know that over these next few weeks we will be bonding so much, and hopefully we can be as good of zone leaders to them as our zone leaders were to us.
I really love being able to listen to the devotionals each Sunday and Tuesday of the week. This week we heard from Elder Walker who used to be one of the general authorities. At the beginning of the devotional we sang "We are as the Armies of Helaman." That song really hit home to me because that was the song that the youth sang as I left for my mission. I really love that song because it describes just how missionaries are. I feel like every time we sing a hymn in a devotional, I am singing it in my home ward. I always think about singing that song in my ward, and I feel so at home. Elder Walker talked to us about how to become a successful missionary. He listed out 10 different points, but number 3 was my absolute favorite. He told us of the story about President Hinckley. President Hinckley was having some struggles on his mission, and he wrote a letter to his dad talking about how things were not going so well. He was struggling and found it hard to work. His dad ended up writing a letter back which said, "Forget Yourself and Go to Work." Even though the letter was just one sentence long it gave him so much inspiration to work hard. I love this because that is exactly how a good missionary should be. Some days I may feel like I am really struggling and that I am too tired to work, but as I said in my last email I really think about the salvation of the people of Japan. This mission is not about me at all. It is about bringing others to the truthfulness of the gospel. During our TRC this week we were able to teach a real member in Japan. She was the nicest person in the world. I am so excited to get to know the people of Japan, and to develop a love for all of them. Yesterday my companion and I were able to teach an investigator named Kitamura San. He is struggling with finding faith in God, so we thought we should teach him a lesson on the spirit. We told him all about the spirit and how it can help him increase his faith in God. Later in the lesson he asked us, "If the spirit is true, make me feel it in the next 5 minutes." I immediately had a prompting to share Moroni 10:4,5 with him. After he finished reading we paused in silence for a moment. I then asked how he was feeling, and he said, "I am feeling something that I cannot explain." I felt the spirit so strong in our lesson with Kitamura San, and I know that day he grew a stronger relationship with his Father in Heaven.
I know I always talk about the scriptures so it may be boring to hear about them from me, but I have grown to love the Book of Mormon so much over these few weeks here! A few days ago I was asking myself, how can I help my investigators develop a testimony that this is the true gospel. As I stated before we have a few investigators who are struggling with their faith in God. They don't know if what we are teaching is true. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon because it always has an answer to everything. A few days ago I was reading in Alma chapter 5. In verses 45 and 46 Alma's tells how he was able to gain his own testimony in God. He says that he knows the things he is teaching are true, and tells exactly how he was able to learn of their truthfulness. I think that one of the greatest tools we can use in helping our investigators develop a testimony is by sharing our own. When I read Alma's testimony, my own testimony increased so much. This gospel really is the only true gospel on the Earth. I know that through constant prayer and reading the Book of Mormon we can increase our faith. I know that if we develop faith in Christ and use his atonement in our lives that we can return to our Heavenly Father and live with our families for eternity. I am sincerely grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know that through the Holy Ghost we can learn the truth of all things. I know that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love each and every one of us, and I say that in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
Thank you all for your support and prayers. I can feel them strengthening me each day. If anyone is wondering I am reading from Alma 16 right now and I set a goal to read 1 chapter a day. That is great that Shandon got his call! Tell him I said congrats, he will make a great missionary. I truly hope that I will be able to find Andrew here at the MTC. It would be so great to see him again before I go out to Japan. Sadly I don't think we will be doing anything for the 24th of July, but it was so great to get a package from you guys! Thank you so much the candy and the quotes you sent! I really love the quote that says, "They were uncertain of their future, they were certain of their faith." That is truly inspiring to me. Yes, their are ten people in my district, 4 Elders 6 Sisters. We are the 'old missionaries' now because we have been here for 7 weeks haha. I have all their emails so you probably don't need to worry about getting adding them to the forward list, if so I'll let you know. Yes, the first day here they gave me all the materials that I would need for Japan. If I can think of anything else I will let you know, but I doubt their is anything else I need. They even gave us like 4 different dictionaries. I have not taught the Elders the creepy crawler, slam bang game yet, but that is a good idea. We played some more pirates dice today and volleyball though, which was pretty fun. I have seen a few people that I know from my high school, but the only close friend that I knew was Isaac Reed, which I sent a picture of me and him already. Thanks again so much for everything, and if I can think of something I need I will let you know. You are the best!
I do have some advice for Logan and Slade. First I just want both of you to know that I love you guys and I truly hope that you will decide, when you are ready, to serve your missions. The first week in the MTC is really tough. I'll be honest the first day here I thought there is no way that I would be able to do this, and I honestly considered going home. I missed all of my family so much and figured I wouldn't be able to leave you guys for 2 years. I wasn't used to getting up so early and being tired all the time. I wasn't used to being with a companion 24 hours a day and working so hard all day. I didn't know that the language would be as difficult as it is because it really is not easy, but I do know this... that it will all be worth it! Taking 2 years of your life to serve the Lord is not even a fraction of what he has done for all of us. He loves you so much and wants you to share his love with all those around the world. The gospel is true, and I know you will feel so much joy to know that you are bringing families together for eternity. It won't be easy, but it will all be worth it.
I love you all and pray for you always,
Elder Hirschi
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